Technology

Out of Office with Sundas

by Sundas Khalid

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Latest episodes

How to Get Ahead of 99% Engineers

August 28, 2026 · 19 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Sajjaad Khader to talk about how engineers can stand out and accelerate their careers. We discuss his software engineering salary progression, how he earned two computer science…
What It Takes to Be a $300K Cloud Engineer

August 28, 2026 · 20 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Linda Haviv to talk about her journey from software engineering to cloud engineering. We discuss the differences between software and cloud roles, what cloud computing actually…
Is a CS Degree Still Worth It? An Ex-Google Engineer Explains

August 28, 2026 · 22 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with former Google engineer Delia Lazarescu to discuss whether a computer science degree is still worth it in the age of AI. We talk about life after Google, the value of CS…
Is Big Tech a Trap? Why She Quit Her $200K Software Engineering Job

August 28, 2026 · 21 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Pooja Dutt to talk about why she left her remote $200,000 software engineering job at Microsoft. We discuss burnout, the tradeoffs behind leaving Big Tech, what she learned from…
How She Got $300,000 Software Engineer Job at Google

August 28, 2026 · 9 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Maddy Zhang to talk about her journey to a $300,000 software engineering role at Google, including school, internships, and Leetcode. Maddy also shares how she prepared for…

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LinkedIn VP: The Career Move to Make Before 2027 (YOUR NEXT MOVE)

August 27, 2026 · 27 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Paolo Provinciali, VP of Marketing at LinkedIn, to discuss what’s really happening inside Big Tech. We talked about ROI, revenue per employee, at different big tech and how…
Snowflake VP: AI Still Can’t Replace Engineers

August 27, 2026 · 24 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Baris Gultekin, VP of AI at, who's been building AI longer than most people knew what it was. He walked me through his time at Google, how he ended up leading AI at Snowflake…
Data Scientist: I was FIRED and STILL made $600K

August 27, 2026 · 19 min

In today's episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Megan Lieu, an ex data scientist who made $600K last year. She walked me through getting laid off, rushing into the wrong job, burning out hard within 6 months, and…
From Data Engineer to Data Scientist, Then Quit

August 27, 2026 · 30 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas I sat down with Maggie Ma, a former Data Engineer who made the move to Data Scientist role. She shared what it really took to make that transition, the skills she had to learn, and how much of…
From 2.6 GPA to $200K Microsoft Software Engineer

August 27, 2026 · 16 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Pooja Dutt, former Software Engineer at Microsoft, to talk about how she landed a remote software engineering role at Microsoft after graduating with a 2.6 GPA. Pooja shares…
From Pre-Med to $135K Data Analyst: Was it Worth it?

August 27, 2026 · 23 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Alex Freberg to talk about his transition from pre-med to a $135,000 data analyst role and eventually becoming an entrepreneur. Alex also shares what he would do differently…
How He Got $600,000 Data Engineer Job

August 27, 2026 · 18 min

In this episode of Out of Office with Sundas, I sat down with Zach Wilson, former Data Engineer at Airbnb, to talk about how he went from an $80,000 data engineering role to earning $600,000 at big tech. Zach also shares the career moves…

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About the show

Out of Office with Sundas is a tech & AI podcast about how modern technology is built, scaled, and led. Featuring practical lessons from CEOs, founders, executives and technical leaders. Hosted by Sundas Khalid, a former principal data scientist and tech leader at Google and Amazon, the show features conversations with tech & AI executives, CEOs, founders, engineers, scientists, and tech leaders shaping the industry, Topics: AI systems and infrastructure, building and scaling technology, technical leadership, and careers in the AI era.